Potential Roles of Essential Oil and Extracts of Piper chaba Hunter to Inhibit Listeria monocytogenes

The in vitro anti-listerial potential of essential oil and various organic extracts of Piper chaba Hunter (Piperaceae) were evaluated. The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by the GC-MS. Fifty four compounds representing 95.4% of the total oil w ere identified, of which α-humulene (16.4%), caryophyllene oxide (12.2%), veridiflorol (8.1%), globulol (7.4%), β-selinene (7.1%), spathulenol (6.2%), trans-nerolidol (5.1%), linalool (4.5%), 3-pentanol (3.5%), tricyclene (2.2%) and p-cymene (1.6%) were the major compounds. The oil and organic extracts revealed a great potential anti-listerial effect against all five strains of Listeriamonocytogenes ATCC 19111, 19116, 19118, 19166 and 15313. Also the essential oil had a strong inhibitory effect on the viable cell count of the tested Listeria spp. Our findings demonstrate that the essential oil and extracts derived from the leaf of P. chaba might be a potential source of natural preservatives used in food industries.